Bricks from former Martin Tower for sale through industrial museum

The National Industrial History Museum is selling bricks from the former Martin Tower building for $25 each. (Photo by Glenn Koehler) –

Anyone nostalgic for the former Bethlehem Steel Headquarters building, Martin Tower, which was imploded May 19, can now own a piece of the structure that was once the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley.

The National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem is selling bricks from the former tower for $25 each as a fundraiser for the museum.

Glenn Koehler, director of marketing and public relations for the museum, said after people were trying to raid the demolition site looking for souvenirs, it was obvious there was a demand, but sifting through debris wasn’t the safest way for people to retrieve memories.

The museum worked with the individual overseeing the site to safely get around 1,000 bricks from the former tower for keepsakes.

The bricks were part of the loading dock and parking deck structure on the ground floor of the building and were retrieved from the site in July by museum staff and volunteers.

Koehler said they did little to clean the bricks, so most still have mortar attached making each one different and unique.

“We decided not to clean them up too much so that they are more original,” he said.

Each brick has a commemorative plaque with a silhouette depiction of the tower and the years 1972-2019, which is the time the building stood.

Koehler said the silhouette is the image that was used on coffee mugs that used to be on sale at the tower.

Money raised through the sale of the bricks will be used for educational programs and future exhibits at the museum.

Demand has been strong, Koehler said. Since the bricks went on sale Friday, the museum has already sold about 300 bricks.

Bricks can be purchased at the museum, which is on the SteelStacks site, former Bethlehem Steel property on Bethlehem’s South Side or through the website nmih.org/martintower.

Writer Stacy Wescoe has her finger on the pulse of the business community in the Greater Lehigh Valley and keeps you up-to-date with technology and trends, plus what coworkers and competitors are talking about around the water cooler — and on social media.
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